Ever slam on your brakes to stop for a yellow light, only to have the intersection remain clear for several more seconds. You totally could have gone through safely!
With the increasing popularity of red light cameras, it’s not usually worth the risk of a steep ticket. By installing cameras that discourage drivers from running yellow lights, cities are contradicting their eco-friendly commitments. To be fair, running a blatantly red light is reckless, dangerous to yourself and others, and should remain illegal. But if you enter the intersection while the light is still yellow, I think you’ll be perfectly safe and it’s the green thing to do.
Since fuel efficiency is measured in miles per gallon, and cars still use fuel when idling at a stop light, stopping is by definition the least efficient use of resources. Zero miles traveled divided by any amount of gas is still 0. Plus stopping kills any inertia energy you’d built up, and accelerating again after the stop is definitely not the optimum operation for your engine. Cruising at a constant speed maximizes efficiency and running yellow lights can prolong your time spent at that speed.
Slamming on the brakes to stop for yellow results in increased rear-end-collisions and creates unnecessary wear and tear on the vehicle. Cars at idle burn fuel and create emissions without any benefit — after all they’re not going anywhere.
A yellow light typically lasts 5 seconds. Then you’ll typically have an “all-red” time of 2-3 seconds, when no one is allowed to go, which is intended to allow the intersection to safely clear. And then you’ll have another 2-3 seconds before cross traffic drivers react to their new green light and reach the middle of the intersection. So in total, you have about 10 seconds from when the light turns yellow to when another car could possibly hit you.
In 10 seconds, a car traveling 40 mph will go a distance of 586 feet — almost the length of two football fields! I think you can make it safely through the intersection. Maybe even the next one.
So there you have it, running yellow lights is the safe and green thing to do. If you get a ticket, just tell the officer about this inconvenient truth.
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Tags: driving
